HBU softball coach wins 700th game; looks to Division I future

Some coaches embrace milestone victories. Mary Ellen Hall is not one of them.

The Houston Baptist softball coach won her 700th game on March 17. That’s a big accomplishment for anyone, but Hall points out that she has been at it for 22 seasons.

“It just means I’ve been doing this for a really long time,” said Hall, who also is quick to point out that assistant coach Roger Wilhite has been with her for 18 years.

While 700 may not mean much to Hall, the fact that win came in a Southland Conference game means plenty. The Huskies defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 10-2, to stay in the middle of the pack.

While the HBU football team will not join the Southland until 2014, the softball team is already there.

Hall has led the Huskies to nine appearances in the NAIA national tournament. They placed fifth in 2005.

Now that they’re in a Division I conference, however, the Huskies can play for the big prize – a berth in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

HBU has a long way to go for that, but for the first time the players can be motivated by the fact that if they win the Southland tournament they’ll qualify for the NCAA tournament.

“It means the world (to be in that position),” Hall said. “It would be a major step for this program.”

HBU has come a long way since Hall became the coach. The team used to play off campus. Now they have their own field with stadium seating.

The jump to Division I has led to an expanded recruiting base. Hall said some players who visit Texas and Texas A&M also are visiting HBU.

This year’s team (13-13, 6-6) has seen the benefits of that bigger recruiting base. The roster is up from 14 players to 18. The Huskies already have more home runs and stolen bases than they had all of last season.

They’ll probably have to upset somebody along the way to get to the big stage, but just having the opportunity is a big deal. It means that Hall’s 800th win could come against Alabama or Florida in the regional round, or maybe even a Super Regional.

“Who doesn’t want to go to the postseason?” Hall said. “You want to be the one to pull off a big upset. We want to be that team. There’s no reason we can’t be.”